Description

Flower in Cretaceous Amber – Tropidogyne pikei

Cretaceous

Vicinity of Maingkwan, north of Mogaunga, Myanmar (Burma) 5mm angiosperm flower in 17mm Burmite.amber.

Tropidogyne is a genus of five-petal flower that has been tentatively assigned to the plant family, Cunonciacae, which includes a number of woody plants.  The New South Wales Christmas bush, Ceratopetalum gummiferum, is perhaps the most well-known species of the family.  Tropidogyne could be the oldest known genus of the family.  This specimen is certainly one of the oldest flowers on the market.

Amber offers a rare window into the ancient past.  Take a look at this flower as it was when it was covered by tree resin perhaps 100 million years ago.